The Intelligent Troglodyte’s Guide to Plato’s Republic, 2016a

39 Courage in the City
See 429a-430c. What is it for a city to be courageous? It is for the auxiliaries to
be steadfast in their convictions, preserving, in the face of temptations, the right
beliefs about what should and should not be feared. Because courage has to do
with preserving beliefs “inculcated by the law through education,” it is dependent
upon the rulers and their wisdom. But it is a virtue specifically of the auxiliaries,
who are charged with upholding the integrity of the city through force of arms.
Courage is not the same thing as fearlessness, for it is consistent with a certain
amount of fear, above all with fear of slavery, which in antiquity meant the
dismemberment of a city. (Recall from 387b that the auxiliaries are to be raised to
fear slavery more than death.) Courage is especially valuable for resisting the lure
of pleasure, which is more potent than any detergent at loosening the “purple dye”
of a good upbringing. In a courageous city, the army cannot be bought off.
What is good for a city to fear? What is bad for a city to fear?
Could a city be courageous, on Socrates’ view, if the rulers were unwise and
their laws oppressive? Consider a city ruled by someone like Hitler or
Stalin.
If you were a ruler in this city and had to keep an eye out for children who
showed signs of being well suited for training as auxiliaries, what would
you look for?
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